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Viewing single post of blog Cerbyd – an odyssey across the valleys

I wake up and it’s Tuesday already. Where did the time go? Must I go back to reality? Can’t I stay in the Cerbyd bubble forever? I idly prepare breakfast and warm drinks as Cerbyd slowly stir. Melancholy campers begin to take their tents down for the final time. The first of the Cerbyd meetings is called and we gather round. The discussions turn to what we are and could be. We have all shared in something special this is agreed. We have all become closer to one another than any of us first imagined possible in such a short space of time. We become caught up in fine details that have no place in the first meeting and I push for confirmation of what Cerbyd is. The possibilities of Cerbyd are defined as follows:

1) Cerbyd as Collaboration – with members of the community groups or Cerbyd. Or with the places we visited.

2) Cerbyd as Collective – working together towards Cerbyd’s shared aims

3) Cerbyd as Individual – individual responses to the journey and to any subsequent Cerbyd related experiences.

4) Cerbyd as documentation – documentation of what Cerbyd is and will be.

5) Cerbyd as Unification – as a way of losing individual artistic identity and creating work under the banner of Cerbyd.

The Mantra from the Cerbyd meeting borrows from Evel Knievel If it is possible, it is done. If it is impossible, it will be done. There is no time for nostalgia as the bus is packed and loaded one more time. The first half of the journey down to Cardiff is a somber one and it is not until Kathryn’s iPod is employed that spirits are raised.

Stirring renditions of Beyonce’s All the Single Ladies with a clever quiz related lyric change If you like it, you shoulda put a wig on it! Seated dance routines and hand jives ensue, the group peek then sleep descends over Cerbyd land as the wheels on the bus roll us towards tea at g39. I text Sean our ETA and he confirms there will be bunting.

As we pull off the M4 Brian and I decide now is the perfect time to play The Specials’ Enjoy yourself (It’s later than you think) causing an almighty sing-a-long on the bus. Unfortunately our eagerness has gotten the better of us and we have underestimated how far we are away from our destination. The sing-a-long deteriorates into a hilarious droning parody as we run past Cardiff Castle and into town.

We come to our final stop on the side of St Mary’s street, the group unload and say their thanks and good byes to Gillian. We arrive at g39 to a heroes welcome, bunting, welsh cakes, tea and coffee galore. Emotions run high with tears and embraces. Sean and Helen wearing pinafores is a moment to treasure for all eternity and I confide in understatement that ‘Yes, it did go rather well’. Brian and I are off again, dancing to a different beat as we head back to Gillian to return the bus. The total distance travelled is clocked at 1,037 miles but this is just the beginning.


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